Automatic bridge-gate



(No Model.) v I 2 S'hets-Sheei; 2. 1 A. H. MYERS.

v AUTOMA'I'IC BRIDGE GATE.

No. 504,169. Patented Aug. 29, 1893.

W A A] gojwhen the draw is over it.

UNITE PATENT OFFICE.

ABRAHAM H. MYERS, OF STERLING, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC BRIDGE-GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 504,169, dated August 29, 1893- Applioation tiled January 13,1893. Serial No. 458,206. (No model.) I v To alt whom it may conoera:

1 3e it known that I, ABRAHAM H. MYERS, a c1t1zen of the United States, residing at Sterling, in the county of Whiteside and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Automatic Bridge-Gate, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in automatic bridge gates, for closing the roadway, as the draw portion of the bridge is being swung open, and while it remains open.

In my invention, the road-obstructing bars reciprocate vertically,in suitable ways, (which latter are placed below the line of the road) and said bars are separately thrown up by weighted levers peculiarly arranged, when said levers are not forced downward by the passage over them, or resting upon them, of the draw.

One disadvantage heretofore met, in some classes of automatic bridge gates, has been that the draw was capable of operating said gate only in one direction. Experience has shown that it is essential to be able to movethe draw back,in case it should casually have swung too far, or sometimes from the unexpected approach of a vessel from the direction to which the bridge is swinging.

The object of my invention is to provide vertically reciprocating bars, which operate independent of each other, and successively rise and close the approach as the draw is being swung from the same, and when all of such bars at their highest altitude they connectedly form a fence across the approach at the bridge face thereof, and as the draw is closed it successively forces said bars below the roadway. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is aview of the bridge face of the approach, showing the aforesaid vertical bars D in their position of shutting off the travel while the draw is open. i Fig. 2' is a view of the outer end of the draw. Fig. 3 is a detail of one of the bars D and its operating lever, when said bar is at its limit of its up stroke. Fig. 4 is the same, with said bar at the limit of its down stroke, in the position it occupies Fig. 5 is a detail, looking from the draw, of a portion of the means for raising the first three bars. Fig. 6

is a partial end view of the mechanism for cation to any species of draw-bridge, I do not deem it necessary to show or describe parts which will be readily understood.

Referring to Fig. 2, A is the end of the dra which is provided on its lower side with a suitable plank B, set edgewise, and provided at one end with a shoe 1, adapted to ride over the central upward curves or crests 5 of the levers E, shown in Fig. 1, and thereby depress the vertical bars. The shoe 1, for convenience, will be called the forward end of the draw. The draw normally rotates with shoe 1 foremost.

At the rear end of the plank B there is provided a projection 2, furnished with a depressing wheel 3, and an auxiliary retaining shoe 4. At the front end of the draw is shoe 1, and said shoe enters the approach 0 at its end L (Fig. 1), and as the central crest 5 of the lever E, at the opposite end of the approach, is some distance from said side, the depressing wheel 3 is required to be placeda corresponding distance beyond the adjacent edge of the draw, to engage, in the return of the draw, the first crest 5 before the draw has come in contact with the first bar'D. The bars D are arranged, as shown in Fig. 1, between fixed verticalplank 15,formingwith projecting metallic plates 6, attached to the face of plank 15, independent ways, between which plates there is sufficient interval to permit the movement of the pitman F, which is pivoted at its upper end to the inner face of the bar D, and at its lower end to the adjacent end 7 of the lever E. Each of the levers E is suitably pivoted,.at 8, on the inner face of the approach, and is furnished,at its free end, with a weight 9. The relation of the parts is such that, when the draw is open, the weight 9 is down and the bar D is up, and that, as the draw, in closing, passes over the apex 5, it forces down the bar D through the medium of the end of lever E attached to the pitman F, and at the same time it raises the weight 9 into the position shown in Fig. 4 so that,

from a passing vessel.

when the draw. is closed, the'weighted'end of the lever E is nearly horizontal. The continuous bar G across the face of the approach,

behind which the bars D reciprocate, serves to hold all of said bars mutually in line. The

apex 5 of the levers E being slightly at the bar D side of the fulcrum 8 of levers E,downward pressure thereon, by either the shoe 1 or wheel 3, serves to throw thebarDdown,

as shown in Fig. 4, when the transverse plank B, shown in Fig. 2, resting upon all of the apices 5,'h0lds thebars D down, and the deck of the draw A projects.entirely.overthebars, D, forming a reasonably close joint with the deck [-1 of the approach.

As the levers E are arranged along the face.

of the approach and parallel .with said face, to operate them all in the mode shown in Figs. '3 and 4, will project the weighted ends of the bars D at the extreme right, in Fig. 1,. too

great a distance, past the side of the approach.

To obviate this, the three bars D, at the right end of the approach, are operated. as shown .in Figs. 5 and 6, in which the leverslE are truncated at 10, and the lift of the weighted endof the leveris applied at 11 by means of the box L,. there covered and providedwith the weight 9.

The description of operations,shown in Figs. 5. and 6, applies simply to the three bars .D,first operated bythe shoe 1 of the draw A,

the purpose being to avoid extending the le-.

vers E too far past the face of the approach.

None of theworking mechanism shown would extend more than afoot from the inner face of the approach 0, and therefore can be very readily boxed against the face of the approach, to prevent injury thereto. Another advantageis that noneof .the parts project into the stream so as to either obstruct navigation, or toibe liable to injury by collision There are no springs, wires, or ropes connected with the device, and the operations of .the bars D are efl'ecte'd whollyby the weights 9 in one direction, and

bythepositive action ofthe'draw on the apices 5 in the other direction. Conceiving .the draw A. as passing'Fig. l, entering at the boxdL side, the shoe 1 would engage the first apex5. 'The front of the draw A would be so near the first bar D as to give the latter only. time SLllfiGlBIll] to drop to avoid'being struck-.bythe edge ofthe draw, and the draw passes over the first bar D so soon after the downward movement of the latter that no gap is left. The same is true in the successive putting down of each of the following bars D, and the-same is true in .the retrogression of the draw when the wheel 3 puts the bars D down, directly in advance of the draw A.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. .In combination withthepivoted draw A, provided with .a shoe 1 and wheel 3, the approach (3, provided with a series of vertically reciprocating bars D arranged in separate ways along the inner face of said approach, the levers .E provided with .weights 9 and apices 15 slightly beyond their central pivot, anda pitman F connectingthe un weighted end of..levers'E with the bars'D, respectively; substantially as shown, and'for the purpose described.

2. ln combination witha suitable approach, a bridge draw, a. series of vertical bars D-independently seated, in suitable ways in'the bridge face of "said approach, and weighted leversE adapted to separately raise said bars,

saidd-raw A being provided with shoe'l, plank B. and wheel 3, adapted to separately'depress said bars; substantially as shown,and;forthe purpose described.

3. In: an automaticbridge guard, 'theconr bination of aseries ofvertical'bars D, adapted to reciprocate vertically in .the face of said approach, levers Egsuitably fulcrumed'on'ithe face of said approach, and pivotally connected at one endtoqthe barkD,-and provided at the opposite end with .weights 9,and provided centrally, respectively, with 1apex.5 located slightly at the barD side ofthetfulcrum'8 of saidzlever, anda draw A'provided vritlr means for forcingdownward, and holding down said bars D, by pressure'npon the apices'5;.snbstantially as shown'and-for thepurpose described.

34. In an automatic bridge ,guard,'the combination of a series o'f-verticalbars Dseated in verticalwaysintheface of the approach, and levers E pivoted about centrally,and provided atone end with the weight- 9,.and pivotally connected at'theother end'tothe bars D, whereby said weighted endforces'the'bar Dupward when the drawis openysubstantially as shown and for the pnrpose described.

MARTHA W. BARRETT, JOHN MYERS. 

